Stephanie Kurtzuba (born March 20, 1972) is an American film, television, and theater actress. She is best known for her roles in the films The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Annie (2014), and The Irishman (2019), and on television in recurring roles on The Good Wife and Blue Bloods.

Stephanie Kurtzuba
Born (1972-03-20) March 20, 1972 (age 52)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNYU Tisch School of the Arts
OccupationActress
Years active2003–present
Spouse
Joshua Coakley
(m. 2005)
Children2
Websitestephaniekurtzuba.com

Early life and education

edit

Kurtzuba was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, where she graduated from Omaha Central High School.[1] Growing up, she performed in local theater productions,[1] with her first role at the age of 10 as an orphan pickpocket in the musical Oliver, and won the Miss Nebraska Pre-Teen pageant.[2] She briefly attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism, before being accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned an acting degree.[1][2]

Career

edit

Theater

edit

After graduating, she spent time performing in experimental off-off-Broadway productions, before going into commercial theater.[2] Her first Broadway show was as part of a backup trio to Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz in 2003.[3] As a member of the original Broadway casts of Mary Poppins in 2006 and Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008, she performed at the 2007 and 2009 Tony Awards.[2] Her Off-Broadway credits include the 2018 revival of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Our Lady of 121st St., directed by Phylicia Rashad for Signature Theatre,[4] The Joys of Sex, directed by Jeremy Dobrish for Variety Arts Theater,[5] and Bat Boy: The Musical, directed by Scott Schwartz at the Union Square Theatre.[6]

Film

edit

Kurtzuba portrayed Mrs. Kovacevic, a social services clerk with a Russian accent, in the 2014 film adaptation of Annie.[2] Her performance was praised in the Los Angeles Times[7] and Variety.[8] She is featured on the song "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" on the Annie soundtrack album.[9] In The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, she played Kimmie Belzer, a single mom hired by Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the only female stockbroker at the company.[2][10] In the Scorsese Netflix film The Irishman, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, she portrays Irene, the wife of De Niro's character.[11] She also appeared in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and Away We Go opposite John Krasinski.[2]

Television

edit

Kurtzuba had recurring roles as Olivia on The Good Wife on CBS, as Sergeant (and later Captain) Paula McNichols on Blue Bloods, as cult member Sabrina on The Leftovers on HBO, and on the Paramount Network miniseries Waco.[2] She has also appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on NBC, Elementary on CBS, and Bull on CBS.[2][11]

Personal life

edit

Kurtzuba married Joshua Coakley in 2005. They met when Kurtzuba was performing in a show at the Alley Theatre in Houston, and Coakley was working on the show in the props department.[2] They live in New York City and have two sons.[1]

Kurtzuba co-owns West Lanes Bowling Center in Omaha with her father and two siblings. Her maternal grandparents built the bowling alley in 1955.[2]

Kurtzuba is also a model and has been the spokesperson for Red Baron Pizza since 2017.

Filmography

edit

Film

edit
Year Title Role
2004 Knots Sheila
2008 Parting Words Brenda Turko
2009 Away We Go Performance Mom
2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Elaine Black
2013 The Wolf of Wall Street Kimmie Belzer
2014 Before I Disappear Blonde Woman
Annie Mrs. Kovacevic
2018 To Dust Receptionist
2019 Bad Education Carol Schweitzer
The Irishman Irene Sheeran
2023 The Machine LeeAnn Kreischer
Fish Out of Water Brenda

Television

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2004 Law & Order Janet Episode: The Brotherhood"
2006 Related Waitress Episode: "His Name Is Ruth"
Numb3rs Publicist Episode: "All's Fair"
2010–2014 The Good Wife Olivia Suconik 4 episodes
2013 Elementary Eileen Rourke Episode: "Risk Management"
Do No Harm Nadia Cross Episode: "Six Feet Deep"
2014 The Leftovers Sabrina 2 episodes
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Joan Harris Episode: "Glasgowman's Wrath"
2016 Chicago P.D. Detective Ricci Episode: "The Silos"
2017 #MotherJudger Deb Web series
2018 Bull Rebecca Lexington Episode: "Kill Shot"
Waco Carol Noesner Miniseries; 3 episodes
The Good Cop Evelyn Episode: "Will Cora Get Married?"
2019 The Enemy Within Desiree Villareal Episode: "An Offer"
The Good Fight Olivia Suconik Episode: "The One Where Diane and Liz Topple Democracy"
2019–2024 Blue Bloods Sergeant/Captain Paula McNichols Recurring
2020 Grey's Anatomy Opal 2 episodes
2021 Station 19 Opal Episode: "Train in Vain"
Dynasty Katie Loftland 2 episodes
2021 The Blacklist Eva Mason Episode: "Eva Mason (No. 181)"
The Watcher Helen Graff Episode: "Götterdämmerung"
2022–2023 Tulsa King Clara Truisi Recurring
TBA Your Friends and Neighbors Upcoming series

Theatre

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2001 Bat Boy: The Musical Shelly (u/s) Off-Broadway
2003–2004 The Boy from Oz Trio member / Ensemble
Judy Garland (u/s)
Broadway
2004 The Joys of Sex Stephs Nolton/Gladys/Brandi Off-Broadway
2004–2005 Newsical Performer Off-Broadway
2005 A Mother, A Daughter, and A Gun Eleanor/Cheryl
Jess (u/s)
Off-Broadway
2006–2007 Mary Poppins Swing Broadway
2008–2009 Billy Elliot the Musical Lesley / Dancer / Ensemble
Dead Mum (u/s)
Broadway
2018 Our Lady of 121st Street Marcia Off-Broadway

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Leo Adam Biga, "From Bowling Alley, to Broadway, and Back," Omaha Magazine, August 8, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2022
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bob Fischbach, "Central grad, 'Annie,' 'Wolf of Wall Street' actress also co-owns Omaha bowling alley," Omaha World-Herald, December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2022
  3. ^ Ben Brantley, "Flash Of 70's Sequins," New York Times, October 17, 2003.
  4. ^ Scheck, Frank (May 20, 2018). "'Our Lady of 121st Street': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  5. ^ Stasio, Marilyn (May 18, 2004). "The Joys of Sex". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  6. ^ "Bat Boy: The Musical".
  7. ^ Betsy Sharkey, "An 'Annie' without the expected sunshine, spirit or energy," Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2014.
  8. ^ Ronnie Scheib, "Film Review: 'Annie'," Variety, December 14, 2014.
  9. ^ Halee Makhan, "'Annie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack' is Set to Drop on November 17," The Source, October 23, 2014.
  10. ^ Corinna Clendenen, "The Wolf of Wall Street – Saint or Sinner?" HuffPost, January 6, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2022
  11. ^ a b "Who Is Wealthy Widow Rebecca Lexington on 'Bull'? Stephanie Kurtzuba," 2paragraphs, January 23, 2018.
edit